


So Far Away

by kms726



Category: Red Dwarf
Genre: Family, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-05
Updated: 2018-11-05
Packaged: 2019-08-19 05:29:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16528319
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kms726/pseuds/kms726
Summary: Lister misses his sons. A lot. He turns to Rimmer for some much-needed sympathy.





	So Far Away

Rimmer could no longer ignore the plaintive heavy-sighing in the bunk above him; there was clearly something bothering Lister that he wanted to get off his chest. And Rimmer had a pretty good guess what it was.

Lister breathed out another over-dramatic sigh and Rimmer lowered his war magazine, deciding to finally throw Lister a bone and acknowledge him. “Something troubling you, Listy?” he asked lightly.

“I miss me boys,” said Lister forlornly.

“Ah, yes,” said Rimmer in smug acknowledgment that he had correctly surmised what was on Lister's mind. He examined his fingernails. “Still on about that, are we?”

Lister's jaw dropped. “Can you at least try to be a bit more sensitive? This has been really hard for me, man. Would it kill you to show a little empathy?” Realizing his mistake, he spoke before Rimmer could. "Okay, yeah. I know. You're already dead. Doesn't mean you've got to be such a smeghead to me. I'm really going through something right now, y'know?"

“I'm sorry, Listy. It's just the moping, heavy sighing, the theatrics—it's getting a wee bit tiresome. And this self-pity party has gone on for far too long to be justified. You just need to learn to accept things the way they are now.”

“Easy for you to say,” Lister muttered. “It's not like it's *your* kids we're talking about."

This stung the hologram—true, Jim and Bexley were not his children; that pleasure (and sometimes grievance) belonged to Lister alone. But he had grown very close to them in the time they'd spent together, and the twins were certainly the closest thing he'd ever have to his own children, what with him being dead and all.

“No, they're not,” Rimmer sniffed. “Maybe it would help you to move on if you didn't have so many...mementos lying around,” he gestured broadly around the bunk room, where toys were scattered around the floor and discarded clothes were strewn about that were far too small to belong to either of them.

“Nah, man. You know me. I like having their stuff around—for...sentimental reasons,” Lister picked up a teddy bear from beside him, hugging it to his chest. He breathed in its familiar scent deeply, closing his eyes. “It still smells like them...”

“You did the right thing,” said Rimmer, not knowing what else to say. “They couldn't have possibly stayed here any longer; they were just growing too fast.”

“I know, I know,” said Lister, tearing up again. “Then why do I feel so heartless—like I kicked them out?”

“You didn't kick them out, Listy. You sent them somewhere better, better for them, better for us, better for everyone! They're more comfortable there, happier.” Rimmer paused, swallowed. “You knew this day would come.”

“Yeah—but not so soon!” Lister wailed. “I wasn't ready—it all happened so fast...”

“It's certainly strange without them here, I'll admit,” Rimmer agreed, feeling an unexpected twinge in his heart that told him he missed having the twins running around underfoot, too. Even if he did experience an unpleasant static sensation whenever one of them ran giggling through his projection.

“It just feels so weird in here without them,” said Lister, taking in a sullen panoramic view of the bunk room. “So quiet. So empty...”

“On the plus side, it is nice to have a bit more space,” Rimmer responded. He cowered under the scathing look Lister shot him, leaned over the side of his bunk. “Sorry.”

“I just miss them so much,” Lister laid down again, wiped his eyes and blew his nose noisily into the hem of his t-shirt. “I can still hear their sweet little voices...”

Rimmer had had enough. “Oh, Listy, for smeg's sake—of course you can hear them! I understand being separated from Jim and Bexley is hard for you, but you really must stop being so melodramatic—they're right next door! If you miss them so much, pop in and see them! They're in a different sleeping quarters, not a different universe!”

Lister seemed to snap out of the mopey trance he was in. “You're right, man. I'm gonna go see how they're doin'.” He shakily got to his feet and ambled out of the room. Rimmer shook his head slightly with a roll of his eyes, and picked up his hologrammatic war magazine again.

The doors of the bunk room next door slid open as the Scouser approached. Lister heard two excited cries of, “Daddy!” and was nearly bowled over by a couple little three-year-old figures hugging him around his knees. 

"Ahh, I've missed you boys," said Lister, nuzzling his face into the sides of their necks in turn, spurring raucous, melodic laughter from both as the whiskers of his unshaven face tickled them.

The three of them fell to the floor in a giggling pile, and Lister didn't mind in the slightest as Jim and Bexley climbed all over him like he was a human jungle gym, as his locks got pulled and he got a few knees and elbows to his more vital organs and took a blow a speck too far south of his belt. He groaned, hunched up in pain and called for a timeout. Playtime had resumed before Lister was fully recovered, but he was a good sport and took everything his beloved sons could throw at him in its stride, and rough-housing was their favorite activity.

Before long, Jim and Bexley were tired out. Armed with snacks, they each took one of Lister's hands and led him over to their new bunk, where they collapsed, weary from playtime, with Lister sandwiched in between them. The twins snuggled up to Lister on either side as they watched a couple of Mugs Murphy shorts. Before long, Jim and Bexley, in their perfect contentment, had dozed off, using Lister as a human pillow. Just like old times, Lister thought, thinking of the countless times the twins had fallen asleep on him like this back in his own quarters.

The boys may have outgrown sharing a bunk room with him and Rimmer, but it was a huge comfort to Lister to know they were never too far away.

Rimmer watched the snoozing trio from the doorway, his arms folded over his chest and a smirk on his face. He'd had a feeling that the whole "separate room" thing would be a near impossibility for three people who were as inseparable as the small Lister family. Rimmer couldn't suppress a genuine sentimental smile. "Lights," he said, darkening the room before returning to his sleeping quarters for some well-deserved (and Lister-free) peace and quiet.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope that was a lovely, unexpected plot twist for you all! I love writing AU fics where Jim and Bexley age at a normal rate and get to be raised by Lister & Co. I didn't put AU in the tags, as it was a potential spoiler. I'm trying to get back into the swing of writing after a very long hiatus. Please leave kudos or comment if you enjoyed, both would be lovely :) Thank you for reading!


End file.
